Of Honesty and Bad Directions
by Tawa Tamaiti
Summary: Prompt 5: 'Your opponents will be randomly chosen.' It was just Tsuyu's luck that she was up against Tokoyami. His stupid smirk wasn't helping her confidence at all. "Heck you." [T for Language] (TFW you forget to add the fact that it's a prompt series.) [OLD]
1. Prompt 1! (and so it begins)

**Summary: "Holy shit, is that Tokoyami?" Tsuyu's curiosity gets her in trouble. Her ballsiness gets her even deeper. [I REGRET NOTHINGWOOOO]**

 **I don't know why I did this. I really don't.**

 **BUT I DID IT ANYWAY SO LETS GO ON A RIDE, KIDDOS.**

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

…

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Asui Tsuyu wasn't the type to hide away. She normally left that up to her other classmates, like Mineta when he's trying to peek at… _certain things_. While her emotions weren't laid bare, her intentions were. That was how she preferred it; being up-front and speaking her mind whenever she wanted to- consequences be bloody damned.

So, thinking back to the situation at hand, as she was forced to duck and hide behind various shelves, Tsuyu just had to wonder… How the fuck did this happen?

"Maa… I thought the… _that_ _'thing'_ was meant to be released by now, Karu-san?"

The teenager released a small, aggravated huff; his crimson eyes scanning the various book covers on the shelves with near aggressive levels of scrutiny. Karu sighed in response, moving out from behind the counter while rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I tried to defend them for as long as I could, but in the end, they didn't last."

"Not even one?"

"I'm afraid so."

An uncharacteristic groan escaped him, the sound of his head falling into his cupped hands resounding in the small store. "I waited for so long, too…"

Tsuyu gulped loudly, retreating further into the 3rd aisle as she clutched the important collection of data against her chest. No one was about to separate her from such precious cargo- over her dead body, in fact! Arima-kun would be hers, and hers alone. Everyone who tried to get in her way would be vanquished; as easy as any foe she faced against-.

"Tsuyu."

" _REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE— "_

Her alarmed scream was quickly silenced as the man smothered her mouth with his hands, craning his head over the tops of the shelves to steal a panicked glance at the storekeeper. "Hush! I'm not here to hurt you or anything but, why are yo- _is that the last copy of the final instalment of 'Tsuki no Kanojo no Shinjitsu', where Arima-chan is finally confessing to Koari, but whom will ultimately end up in the arms of her dearly beloved Rekuta-san?"_

She blinked.

He blinked.

Tsuyu tried to edge away from him.

"You smell bad."

He, silently, edged right along with her.

" _Answer the question."_

' _Fuck it.'_

"..Ye."

Tsuyu would be called a liar from this day forth whenever she tried to bring up this moment with any of the other students in Class 1-A—heck, with any person on the planet, even. Nothing could prepare her (or her heart) for what occurred in the matter of 5 seconds.

Tokoyami, the class chuunibyou, edgelord and enthusiast of all things dark, gothic and downright _creepy._

Had a _fangasm._

His feathers fluffed up, becoming something akin to a bleak, April cloud as it praised the heavens above, while a delighted squawk tore its way out of his sharp beak; his legs performing on odd dance that was perhaps slightly reminiscent of a mating ritual…

Tsuyu was scared.

 _No._

Tsuyu was _downright intimidated and terrified._

Relying on her instincts alone at this point, the woman practically indented the manga against her chest while backing away from him. Seeing as how he was still distracted with his little… _'fanboy shebang'_ , Tsuyu kept her eyes focused on him as she made her way towards the counter- caution present in every fibre of her being.

So close to freedom, she was. Right at the mouth of the aisle, the quirk-user felt a relieved grin slip onto her face while stubbornly squashing down the urge to sob as the overwhelming pressure melted away.

Then it all built back up again when she stole one final glance into the aisle.

' _Wait a minute- where'd he go? I swore he was right there!'_

Her question was answered as two hands clamped firmly onto her shoulders. _'Please. No.'_

"Say… You wouldn't want to give that up to a long-time fan, eh?"

Tsuyu's expression remained set in stone, barely able to let out an alarmed croak as the dark presence behind her seemed to become all-consuming in its potency.

' _Not like this.'_

"After all, I'm sure you're only a casual reader- you don't seem like the type to read comic books too often, correct?"

Her brow twitched, her pupils dilating as she seemed to feel far more like prey in the clutches of the apex predator, rather than a classmate talking to a fellow comrade about a shared interest.

' _ **Izuku, if I never come back… make out with Uraraka for me.'**_

"You're not talking, so I'll give the safe assumption that you agree-"

' _Curse my blunt nature. Curseth thy honest to the edge of this world, and beyond the mortal coil.'_

"No. It's mine."

He went silent immediately, though his hands remained firmly on her shoulders. Even though they tightened a tad, and almost seemed to climb up her neck- as if he were about to choke her.

"W-wh… _what was that?_ "

"I said fuck off."

' _Fuckmefuckmefuckme- in fact, someone do that now so I won't die as a virgin.'_

She stole a glance at him from her peripheral vision, only able to catch the rapid twitching of his eye- and was it just her, or was the store getting really dark all of a sudden? _'…Am I actually about to get killed by Tokoyami, of all people?'_

Freezing for a moment, she pursed her lips before ripping herself out of his clutches, a prideful incline to her chin as she raised it to stare at him as she stubbornly ignored the sweat building up along her cheek-bones; thankfully hidden by her bangs, "It's mine, you can't have it. I got it first."

At first sight, the man seemed shell-shocked; frozen like a statue in the centre of the shop. Shrugging, Tsuyu proceeded past him towards the counter, shoulder lightly brushing against his.

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Smiling at Karu as politely as one can as a sobbing bird-human clung to her leg, she wasn't quite sure what to make of her role. Wanting to get out of this situation as quickly as possible, the woman simply dumped all the cash she had and quickly hobbled out of the store, calling back a simple, "keep the change!" as Tokoyami screeched and cried incoherently.

Her tongue slipped out of her mouth of its own accord, she would swear to this day; for the soul purpose of wrapping around the teenager and pitching him _as far away from her as she could manage_.

Raising a hand to her eyes, she watched his ascent and eventual descent…

Only to realise a distinct lack of a book in her arms, and that annoying smirk on his face as Dark Shadow displayed the volume proudly in their beak.

Her eyes flashed as something within her broke, bunching up the muscles in her legs and practically _ejecting_ herself from the ground. A wicked grin was settled on her face, her mouth stretched out even further in a crooked line- her sable black eyes managed to achieve an even darker hue as she pursued the duo.

Tokoyami's smirk widened as he gave a cocky wave, Dark Shadow deciding to cut their losses and focus more on minimising the shockwave of the incoming ground instead of the utterly pissed off, soon-to-be heroine.

 _Big mistake._

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

"And that's the story of how I tried to kill one of the strongest students at the school!"

"...Was the car really necessary?"

Tsuyu proceeded to ignored him, instead propping her elbows up on top of his head as Recovery Girl worked her magic- the motherly elderly woman quickly reprimanding the pair of aspiring heroes. "Absolutely necessary."

"Anyways, would you like to continue on to the next page? We're near the climax!"

Tokoyami, despite his bruises and dwindling stamina, managed a small smile as he leaned back into the makeshift wall of pillows Tsuyu had set up, in order to make it more comfortable as they read. "Of course, my desire for the outcome of their personal dilemmas is piqued."

She grunted.

"Whatever you say, Shakespeare."


	2. Prompt 2!

_**So… I still haven't been able to figure out how to fix the horrendous spacing in the first chapter. So. I am going to wing it, and hope for the best! I also kinda wanted to turn this into a series of prompts… *cough* sorry.**_

 _ **ONWARDS!**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **Prompt: He was a graceful, deadly force of reckoning during the day- but the pure terror she had felt during the night in that damned forest… Tsuyu would never forget. But. She could forgive.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

"Cinnamon Roll."

A low grunt was heard, accompanied by the muted sounds of shifting fabric and shuffling feet. Ruby eyes stood in stark contrast against the darkened scene of grass and the massive walls of U.A in the background. "Leave me."

Barely reacting at all, she began the short trek to close the distance between them. Standing at his side, a comfortable space between them, the woman stood beneath the shade of the tree as the sun drifted to its' resting place beyond the mountains and oceans of Japan.

"…No."

"Tsuyu," His voice was raised, a representation of his anger and self-loathing, she would assume. But… "Please." She knew that he was doing this because he was worried about her, and what could happen if she overstayed her welcome by even a few short moments.

But still.

"No."

All emotions seemed to die away from his voice, seemingly admitting to defeat, seeing as there was still another 30 minutes left of the sun's light before things truly got risky. "..Why do you insist on pushing the boundaries like this?"

His hand was starting to clench into a fist.

"Because you're my Cinnamon Roll, and even though you think you're too dangerous to be around, and might even begin to regret the choice of being a hero…" Idly noting that his fist was starting to grow pale from being clenched so tightly, she deftly wrapped her hand around it.

"I don't regret meeting you. I don't regret teaming up with you, during the combat simulations with All Might and at the End-of-Term Exams. I don't regret seeing what I did that night. Because in the end, you're Tokoyami."

"What if-" He hesitated, the crest of feathers donning his head starting to ruffle loudly as the wind was reborn anew, from a weak breeze to a rising whistle. Dark Shadow peaked out from behind the aspiring hero, rising upwards to nudge their head against Tsuyu's shoulder- a melancholic expression painted across their visage.

"What if I wasn't meant to be a hero."

Her grip tightened, pursing her thin lips together as her large mouth remained in its' stubborn v-shaped line. Letting her eyes drift close, she did what she did best- speak her mind. "…I poisoned a girl, once."

Feeling his eyes swing around to focus entirely on her, she kept the disarming smile in place- a permanent fixture, due to the physiology of having the traits of a frog. Tokoyami knew, however, that is was a completely different story in her mind. Staring at the woman's eyes, he observed as her brow furrowed and the dark bags beneath her eyes became more pronounced.

She looked tired. So, so tired.

"It was at school. I wasn't good at making friends- you know this. I had Habuko, but that was in _middle-school_. I-I… I poisoned a small little girl… No older than 6, even. All because I wanted a green crayon from her, and she wouldn't give it to me."

She felt him nearly pull his hand away from her, and she swore that her heart broke in half. But she continued still.

"Do you know why I never mentioned my poison to anyone? Because it can _kill people_. The closest toxicity level I could compare it to would be… Golden Dart Toad." He relaxed, no longer attempting to rip his appendage from her grip. A creature like that didn't sound very threatening…

"Its poison can kill 20 humans. Full-grown ones."

Silence grew like a plague between them, his eyes; so wide and shocked and _pained_. Her eyes; still closed yet seeming as close to crying as one could get.

"...Thankfully, she lived. I was young, and the poison wasn't very developed- but even so, barely a brush of that poison and she threw up. Blood, Tokoyami. There was so much of it. I nearly got arrested. In fact, I'm not sure how I got into this school with that on my record…"

They stood in silence for a few moments longer after the revelation, his gaze drifting back to the lowering sun, while hers returned to the world of the present. _'8 minutes left until the light's gone,'_ he didn't utter a sound, however. Too high was his empathy for the woman next to him, to simply tell her to leave after sharing such a cruel tale to him. _'I can hold Dark Shadow back, for as long as it takes.'_

"But guess what?" Tsuyu softened her grip on Tokoyami's loosening fist, shooting a faint smile to the living-shadow nudging her shoulder as they retreated from sight. "I'm still here. I'm still trying to be a hero. I want to _save_ people, and that's why I don't use my poison. It's a cruel fate, as well as near certain death to everyone now that it's fully concentrated."

"Tsuyu." Flickering her gaze towards him, she gave an acknowledging hum before turning back to the sunset as hues of fire incarnate blazed across the autumn sky.

"How do you deny instinct? Your poison is part of your natural body, it's practically against your nature to never use it."

She laughed; a croaking, high-pitched sound. Unpleasant to most, perhaps; but it calmed him.

"There has been close-calls, no doubt about that. I… I remember when that man's hand was reaching towards me back at U.S.J, when all those villains attacked," sighing softly, she dipped her head in farewell to Amaterasu as she finally disappeared below the horizon.

"I probably would've poisoned him, if he hadn't been so fast. Thank the gods for Aizawa-sensei being there, or I would be dead."

Her smile returned, bumping her shoulder against his elbow as Tokoyami tightened his grip around her hand ever-so-slightly. "Calm down, I'm still here. But yes, there have been some close-calls, but that's all they'll ever be."

Turning around to properly face him, Tsuyu smiled as comfortingly as she could manage, completely relaxed around him despite the near ink-black darkness around them. "You hurt Shouji, yes. But you're his friend, perhaps more than that, with how often you two hang around each other." She grinned teasingly as he simply raised an inquisitive brow at her remark.

"It was a close-call, Tokoyami. And that's all it'll ever be. You apologised, and the entirety of Class 1-A accepted it. _He_ accepted it." She still smiled at him, and he doubted that, no matter what Dark Shadow did to her in any sort of rampage, she wouldn't stop that trusting, perhaps eerie, smile.

Because she was Tsuyu, and she trusted neither blindly nor faithfully.

Because Tsuyu knew she was right.

He was compelled to say that she was always right.

"You're a perplexing woman whom I shall continue to keep in high regards." His way of assuring her that, no matter what happens, he wouldn't tell a soul.

"Of course, Cinnamon Roll-chan."

" _ **I told you not to call me that."**_

"Bah, Edgy-Roll then."

"Ugh…"


	3. Maybe I Should Make Good Titles

_**I'm in this ship.**_

 _ **Deep in it.**_

 _ **Deep as Jaden Smith's tweets.**_

 _ **Help me.**_

 _ **I don't know why I'm updating this so frequently, but I s'pose I'm just uploading what's going on in my head! Finding prompts is hard- even harder to try and fit their individual personalities together. To the people who think they're OOC, I apologise. I just tended to focus on the more pronounced bits of their personality before letting them develop other traits. Such as:**_

 _ **Tsuyu: Blunt, honest and intelligent.**_

 _ **Tokoyami: Withdrawn, polite and powerful in terms of presence of character, along with his Quirk.**_

 _ **So, that'll most likely be the reason why there's not a lot of shipping interaction going on -YET-! But hey, if there's any kind of prompt that you would like me to do, send a PM my way, or just do it on a review. Either way is fine!**_

 _ **Anyways, please do enjoy this new prompt!**_

 _ **EDIT: TO THE POOR SOULS WHO ARE STARVED FOR TOKOTSUYU FICS.**_

 _ **WORRY NOT.**_

 _ **FOR I AM HERE. (Looking at you, my main man ghostface4, I gotchu')**_

 _ **I gotchu'.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 **Prompt: Turning down the invitation to karaoke was easy, but once Tsuyu discovers a hidden addition to rec. room… well, old habits die hard.**

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

"Aww, are you sure you don't wanna come with us? It'll be good fun between friends! We won't judge anyone's singing!"

' _If only she knew…'_ Grinning wryly, she continued to shake her head. "I'm sorry, Mina-chan. But it's for the best, I'm just looking out for your well-being." At least Tsuyu got a few chuckles out of Kirishima and Eijirou for that one.

Visibly deflating, Mina heaved a heavy sigh before granting the rejecting woman one last smile, accompanied by an exuberant wave as she disappeared out of the building with her entourage. "Alright, see you later, then!"

Raising a large limb of her own as she watched many the class meander out the door, she continued smiling (although, she did attempt to glare at Mineta. It just came off as an intense stare, to which he ignored). Finally, the slam of the door echoed throughout the building; a sound that seemed to reverberate through every nook and cranny. The smile immediately slipped off her face, eyes becoming lidded as exhaustion caused her posture to become slouched- more so than usual, at least.

Turning away from the door, she began the long and lonely trek through the now eerily silent building.

Mina took most of the class with her; Tooru, Sero, Ojiro, so on and so forth. Mainly the loud, energetic ones- she was certain that Mineta just went along to try and 'exercise his maturity and tastes.'

That was just Class 1-A for, _'let's see how many skirts I can look up before my boner becomes visible.'_

Tsuyu began to hum as she walked from corner to corner of the main room in the 1-A dorms, she could the faint rock music that Jirou, Tokoyami and Shouji were so fond of, even though her room was on the third floor. Mumbling quietly, the woman shook her head, "I'll never know if that's through the use of her quirk, or her speakers are just _that_ loud."

Grinning, she looked towards the kitchen with a note of finality before beginning the short journey towards the oven. "Might as well… They'll be happy to eat some dango and cookies when they get back."

Though originally opposed to it, Tsuyu had become something akin to the caretaker of the group. It was something deeply ingrained into her, the urge to nurture and cultivate children of all ages; an almost certain outcome from looking after her younger siblings for nearly the entirety of their lives, due to late-working parents. Sad to most, perhaps, but she still loved her mother and father dearly.

She was glad that both adults were forced to come home more often, now that she had to live at the dorms. Satsuki and Samidare deserved to have a proper upbringing, and if it took her being resigned to a life in the school dorms, so be it.

Don't get her wrong, Tsuyu loved her friends, but they could be a bit… Strange at times. There was always some sort of screaming echoing through the halls, or loud music being played. Always someone running up and down the corridors, with the talk-shows on TV becoming simple background noise.

She was thankful for these moments of silence.

Flipping the dials to appropriate settings on the oven, the frog-girl poured herself into her baking as many biscuits as she could with the dwindling ingredients left in the cupboards, _'I need to stock us back up soon, probably ask everyone to put in_ _¥500 for it, as well…'_

Idle thoughts continued to float in and out of her head until she finally tucked the 4 lined trays of delectable dough into the oven. Nodding at a job well done, she set the kitchen timer to 30 minutes and spent the rest of her time on the mitarashi dango she was famous for making in her spare time. Amazingly enough, she managed to finish dunking the last of the dumplings into the sweet soy sauce as soon as the timer set off.

Placing the final skewer of impaled sweets onto a large platter on the kitchen's island, Tsuyu proceeded to layer two tea-towels in a sort of makeshift shielding against the hot surface of the trays (the woes of never having oven mitts that would fit on her hands) and pulling them out from under the oven's blaring heat. She did this for each of the four trays, her tongue whipping out of her mouth to open a cupboard out of her reach and hooking through a wired rack to lay on the island, right next to the dango.

Hastily transferring the (still hot) cookies from the trays to the wired rack, she peeled off the baking paper and tossed it into the nearby bin. Flickering her gaze upward to check the clock, she carefully laid the tea-towel over the cooling biscuits- careful not to get it caught on the soy sauce. _'It's only 5:48…'_

Noting that the trio upstairs were starting to quieten down to enjoy more mellow pieces, ( _'If you could even call someone screaming into a microphone mellow.'_ ) Tsuyu knew she would have another hour or two alone in the rec. room before the mass of students flooded back in from their night out. _'This is going to be so boring…'_

Then she saw a darkened room in the corner.

It was tucked into a nondescript nook in the structure of the building, branched a fair bit away from the entrance to the hallway, perpendicular to the kitchen area. It was hard to be sure, but from what her eyes could see, there seemed to be a large, blocky object near the centre of the room…

Walking towards the door, she carelessly threw it open with caution to the wind. If a villain had been in there, she knew, her classmates would have no Tsuyu to come and talk with again. Perhaps she trusted too much in U. A's security, but it wouldn't matter, due to no villain being hidden within the room.

It was a music room.

Instruments of all types were stored inside the room. There were guitars lined up in racks against the wall, with one or two ukuleles intermingled with them. A single cello (bass cello, judging by the size) was in a stand that was integrated perfectly into the corner, with a row of violins and erhus to the side of it. Hell, there were even flutes in a rack lined up on the wall, near the entrance, ranging from western Alto flutes to the Japanese fue. But there was something else that caught her eye, more than anything…

The grand piano; right smack-dab in the middle of the room.

As much as she wanted to leave and never return to this room, her feet stubbornly brought her ever-closer to the haunting image. Her obsidian gaze dragged itself almost painfully across each individual key; each memory she wanted to throw away, assaulting the forefront of her mind's eye all at once. The sound of muffled choking was responsible for snapping her out of that entranced state of mind, her pupils dilating briefly as she scanned the room, before realising it was her own grief.

Her gaze darkened as they glossed over polished finish of the instrument, tentatively reaching out to brush her fingers against it. She clenched her hand as hatred seared itself into her mind, an inhuman screech tearing its way out of her throat before slamming her fist into the keys- a repetitive action as she expelled her painful memories onto the inanimate object.

The inanimate object that brought back too many thoughts, too many scars and too many events, all coming in too fast for her to even weep.

Paying no heed to the silence of the building as the cacophony of chaos Tsuyu ripped out of the piano's mouth faded into nothing, chest heaving as her breathing began to even out after the vengeful tirade.

With eyes clenched close, the woman finally gave into the urge and sat down at the cushioned seat, laying her hands out flat across the checkered tiles as she took in a deep, calming breath. Though she remembered nothing of her teachings, pulling up blanks on every sheet of music she had ever studied, her fingers graced the keys with soft, flowing notes that filled every inch of space around her. She was telling a journey.

 _Her_ journey.

(The quiet shifting of fabric never stopped her for a moment, neither did the quiet slamming of the front door, the loud, innocent melody seeming to shove all other songs of life away- until it appeared to be the _only_ piece to be heard.)

 _ **Movement 1: Moderato. The Brilliance of Youth**_

The beginning; the sweet, childish beginning. Notes that carried the images of laughing children and loving parents, sudden and improvised strikes against keys that somehow managed to blend perfectly into the sound; the calm but necessary discipline of an adult, their voice strong and firm.

Guiding.

Each, seemingly separate at the beginning, but soon drawing together as Tsuyu's fingers drifted closer to the middle of the piano; one hand playing the same, childish tune while the other added in graceful, darkened undertones; the voice and experience of a human who had seen too much.

A hero with too much to lose, but had lost still.

The movement ended on a soft, harmonic sequence of notes that seemed to join together both mature and adolescent tones to recreate the perfect authentic cadence. The hero was here, what was there to fear?

 _ **Movement 2: Allegro. The Folly of Youth**_

Carefree notes wound around the hero, whose gliding, fickle notes seemed to personify the body of water that cloaks most of the planet they dwell on. _Beru_. The revealed heroine cried back in response, her voice a howling gale of sorrow as the tragedy began to unfold in response to the innocent actions of a child who had only tried to comfort her.

Violent notes rumbled the room, the originally dispirited yet calming harmony between the two melodies becoming a weak thread along the outer-edge of the notes; simply overcome by the sheer amount of self-loathing and rage that Beru had brought forth onto the instrument. All hope seemed lost in the child's place, to try and put at ease the mind of an adult who had gone through far too much, yet…

The oppressed keys attempted to rise up many, many times, a soft and chiding melody that tried to calm the fitful turmoil the matriarch was facing- only to be smacked down violently, again and again as the screeching notes regained foothold.

The child was still far too worried to pay much attention to the near blatant abuse they were going through, before… all at once, the melody stopped. For only a few seconds, perhaps, but silence nonetheless.

(Tsuyu didn't hear the sudden hush that washed over the people behind her, nor did she hear the faintest of taps against the lino floor.)

 _ **Movement 3: Lento. The Reverence of Youth**_

The once carefree notes never made a proper return, becoming nothing more but a hollow imitation of itself- as if the child was growing up, and the act of comforting, while still genuine to some degree on their part, had become a simple routine for both of them. Beru answered harshly, a sudden assault on the keys before she slammed the door in the child's face and left the house- becoming only a soft undertone as the youth's thoughts twisted and twirled in turmoil.

There was a sudden, but oh-so-very weak rise in the poor soul's notes. A late response to the departure of their once dauntless idol.

Their tones softened to near silence, high-pitched and pleading as if trying to convince themselves, one last time, if all of this would be worth it in the end. If losing the battle against their own mother was worth it, just to see them show some type of emotion.

A new sequence entered the fray, a low yet pleasant cacophony of sound that held the edge of a mystery in its actions. Flickering between these two separate melodies, they showed the barest amounts of contact before they started to intermingle- the childish tone rising up once again in rejoice while the stranger seemed to envelope them in a safe, nurturing manner.

The movement ended with the dual cadences. Together, they rebuilt what had once been between the child and Beru; a brilliant cavalcade of sound- not a battle, but instead a dancing harmony between a shepherd and his flock.

 _ **Movement 4: Vivace. The Isolation of Youth.**_

A low, haunting cadence started to edge in between the two voices, both crying out in alarm as they were separated.

Beru's return was primal and unwelcome; an enraged flurry of attacks against the stranger as she rose up above all other melodies in the symphony, dismissing all thoughts of tonality as she adopted discordance into her verses. Wild, vengeful slashes incorporated within every melody.

The stranger made a loud cry of defence, neither fighting back to protect his honour, nor to harm the crazed heroine. _I have done nothing wrong!_ He screamed, _the child is safe!_

Beru ignored him.

Her cries of anger and sorrow rose up once more into an all-consuming mass of noise, countering his sudden bout. _You killed him!_ She cried, _you killed the child's father! That day, out at sea!_ A small, unnoticed sequence of keys in the background became quickly overcome by the anger shown between both adults.

They lashed out against each other, the previously blind cries from the stranger turning into guttural of anger, _you know nothing, wrench! He deserved to die, and so you shall too! I'll take the child out of your incapable hands!_

Beru's theme flickered in shock, _Incapable?_ She screamed back to him, her emotionless, onyx eyes as cold as a sea gale. _Look at them, they're fine! They're strong!_

Cruel, low notes seeped into the cracks of her symphony, tainting her as the low notes seemed to give off the anxious vibe of a growing evil. _Fool! Fool! You do not know, you do not know of your own actions! You do not know that the child cries themselves to sleep!_ He gave a loud, booming laugh as Beru continued to falter; becoming more and more alike to the man's low, bass keys. _Fools be the women, who watch not over the fruits of her labour!_

An animalistic scream rose up at the end of his tirade, silencing him quickly and efficiently as nothing but her jumping, erratic melody seemed to occupy the piano.

Then the child spoke up, a hollow imitation of its' originally carefree, exuberant attitude. But…

The symphony seemed empty and shamed, seeming to just be going through the motions; _mother, mother! Are you alright?_

The heroine's melody, for the first time in years, seemed to become a soothing melody; a pillar of stability amongst the fading notes of anger, hatred and taunts; _child, my child- I am alright, as long as you are safe._

Yet, the movement ended with the emotionless voice of a child and the tears of a mother long gone…

(Tsuyu's fingers drifted to a halt along the keys, too lost in her own creation and thoughts to acknowledge the sounds of the active students return- only to be quickly silenced by someone nearby. It wasn't that Tsuyu didn't care enough to notice, but it was because she was too _lost_ to notice.)

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

He wasn't sure what he was doing, he had played piano; yes. But only recently, with the help of Jirou, had he became adept at being confident in his ability to play the right notes.

But as soon as he had heard the harsh, unforgiving orchestra Tsuyu had unknowingly represented to the entirety of the class, he didn't have the heart to let the song end on such a bitter, tear-provoking cadence.

…

 _Movement 5: Presto._

…

 _ **He wouldn't let it end like this.**_

…

 _The Restoration of Youth._

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

(Tsuyu was whipped out of her thoughts as the keys seemed to return to the story of their own accord, a small panic running through her as she seemed to plead for the story to simply end. And to stay ended.)

Fingers once again danced across the keyboard, the previously empty voice of the child starting to rise up in something resembling joy- as hollow as it seemed at first. Beru's chimes were often accompanied by something new, a low, comforting sequence of bass notes that paired perfectly with the mother's now calming melodies.

Two new voices voice up alongside the original as well, two voices that were carefree and blissful- dancing and twirling together before wrapping the original child up in their flamboyant antics; their song mending most of the cracks as they forged something nearly entirely their own.

Yet, despite the family the child had now, their note always seemed to remain hollow to some degree; regardless of the two younger siblings' attempts to make them whole.

There was a brief lapse, before the sequences started up again; this time detailing the wild battle of the harsh conditions to enter U.A and the near traumatic incidences at USJ, of the child's journey through the Sports Festival, of their shame at not getting a recommendation, yet persevering on because that's all they knew.

The melodies and cadencies spoke more of their duties as aspiring heroes, of partnering with an organisation to broaden horizons, of being alone with that wicked madwoman, _Toga,_ that night out in the forest lodge. Of hearing about Bakugo's fate, then discovering their classmates plan to retrieve him- as well as their cowardly words against it. Of inspiration at the sight of All Might, standing supreme against that all-encompassing evil. Of inspiration that lived on, despite when his malnourished form was revealed to the world.

Then it softened; it softened into the now, where friends talked casually and they didn't have to cry, or hurt, or hold it back. Because there was nothing left to cry about.

Only things to aspire towards.

The piece ended, not with a cry of triumph or victory, but instead it ended with the swelling of a great mass of voicings. All wounded together into a brilliant sequence of uplifting, ascending notes- and silencing with a soft, but dark, melody that drifted into the recreated original voice of the child.

The original voice of Tsuyu.

Then there was silence.

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

She stared ahead, looking at the distorted visage of her reflection against the curves, slopes and declines in the grand piano's impeccable finish. No part of her moved. No part of her faltered.

Tokoyami stared at his own reflection, his own discordant image on the instrument's surface showing not a single piece of his emotions. Nodding faintly, he moved to get up from the seat next to him…

Then she grabbed his hand.

"Tsuyu," he acknowledged.

"…Did you mean it?"

Still crouched in the awkward phase between standing up and sitting down, he simply blinked as he gave a firm nod. "…You're an honest person, for that alone, it would be disgraceful lie to you."

The woman gave a nod of her own, but her grip on his hand didn't loosen; if anything, it just grew stronger. The teenager understood what she felt, it was the same thing he had gone through mere days prior to this.

He sat back down.

He squeezed her hand gently back.

And he stayed.

That was honestly the best thing Tsuyu could ask for, as Uraraka smiled understandingly and everyone settled on the floor around her. Izuku leaned against her leg, while Mina rested her chin on Tsuyu's knees; the rest of the class scattered throughout the newly discovered room in complete silence; the evocative piece of music that had been forged still echoing in every corner of their minds.

Tsuyu just kept her hold on his hand strong, gradually leaning towards him before resting her head on his shoulder.

Tokoyami didn't even flinch, just enjoying the blissful quiet as he kept his head up; whether it was his manners or pride, it didn't bother her much at all.

"Hey guys, it was okay to eat the snacks on the counter rig—?"

Dark Shadow promptly slammed into Kaminari and threw him out of the room- even closing the door, and locking it for good measure.

Outwardly, everyone chuckled, inwardly, they were all thinking the same thing…

' _Holy shit.'_

Tsuyu, was thinking something entirely different, judging by the way her smile gained a more cheerful lilt to it.

"Cinnamon-chan just likes his dango, and he's angry that someone beat him to it while he was being dramatic on a piano." He barely batted an eye at the nickname at this point. Instead he just levelled her with a stare as sarcasm leaked into his voice.

"The woman who was playing a gut-wrenching solo of her life taunts me about being emotional; even though she punched the keys in outrage earlier."

…He got her there.

" _Ribbit_ , it's true."

Mina grinned up at the two, wiggling her eyebrows at the two. "Oh my, is there a new pair entering the scene? Originally, it was Tokoyami and Shouji who were centre-staged; looks like it has a new challenger!"

Tokoyami reacted infinitesimally, his left eye twitching.

Tsuyu just soaked it all in.

"…Tokoyami and Shouji. _Ribbit._ "

They all, of course, noticed the awkward movements of her shoulders and dusting of pink along her cheeks; as well as Tokoyami's slightly _too_ strained cough and shifting eyes.


	4. In Which Tokoyami Makes A Comeback

_***CRAWLS OUT OF HOLE***_

 _ **I'M BACK. I HAVE HAD TO DO A LOT OF RESEARCH FOR FIGHT SCENES.**_

 _ **AND LOOK FOR FIGHTING MUSIC BEFITTING OF TOKOYAMI.**_

 _ **#METAL GEAR RISING: VENGEANCE OST.**_

 _ **I'm joking. I actually listed to Lazyboy Empire because I found it strangely thought provoking. It was either them, or Taylor Swift.**_

 _ **So, I obviously decided to listen to both of them mhmmmm.**_

 _ **ONWARDS WITH THE STORY!**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

 **Prompt 4: Tokoyami learns the hard way that, justice alignment be damned, villains want to look too. They just get a tad more violent when you get to that particular necklace first.**

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Tokoyami was not a happy birdy.

Oh no.

As the various ornaments on display glinted in the most bewitching of ways, Tokoyami would very quickly inform anyone that he was _not a happy birdy at all._

How could a man-bird, with any semblance of respect for himself, resist the urge to just take all the pretty shiny things, then store them in some random bird's nest that was probably going to get decimated by villains in 2 hours?

So yes, it was safe to say that Tokoyami wasn't happy.

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **3 days prior, at the newly instated student dorms…**_

He wished he hadn't of looked out the window that night.

But he did.

He had fingered the end of the curtain, a moment of hesitation before deciding to sweep the material aside and expose the view on the other side of that transparent glass. And he immediately regretted the decision.

The sight that enraptured him, instead of the ever-expanding dazzling shawl of darkness and Tsukuyomi's descent, it was the sight of Tsuyu's shuddering form as she desperately wiped at her eyes. Uraraka had a comforting arm wrapped around her waist, while Izuku, Iida, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu stood in a small huddle around her.

Kirishima was right in front of the woman's small form, making large flourishes with his free hand as his left rested stubbornly on her shoulder; his expression panicked, lips curled in an uncertain smile as he attempted to cheer her up.

Shifting his gaze back to her, he just sighed and rested his head against the cool glass. A familiar presence faded into being behind Tokoyami, his eyes closing as he grunted in response to the various keens and chirps.

"I know Dark Shadow, I know. And… I think I've got just the thing."

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

His dark, casual clothing stood out strikingly with the glittering scenery—not in a good way, either. A simple V-neck and a pair of jeans. And as he eyed the particularly well-dressed individuals roaming the jeweller, he couldn't help but feel… underdressed.

Which is impossible, because he's _Tokoyami_ and he's _always_ dressed to the nines.

A grunt broke him from his reverie, sparing a small glance behind him to catch the eye of an impatient customer- who seemed to have a distinct interest in a… rather disgustingly contrasting piece. A wide cuff bracelet, plated in 18k gold, with a distinct weaving pattern that travelled along the protruding spine of the piece set in sterling silver.

It would honestly look _good_ if it weren't for the fact that someone was colour blind and ruined it with chrysoprase stones.

He could feel the person behind him begin to shove past, an elbow jabbing into his side as the man finally lost all semblance of patience. Tokoyami's eye twitched in response to the jab.

He didn't like being touched by random people.

Not at all.

"Excuse me, I have an inquiry to make into this… _'masterpiece'_ , and possibly business confirmation."

The heroic aspirant proceeded to tilt his head back ever-so-slightly… and deliver a whopping, _"fuck you."_ Discretely, of course.

His glee soared to new, uplifting heights as the stranger looked ready to beat him to death. _'Fufufu… Yesss… Let me antagonise you further, foolish man-child.'_

Especially when a particularly foul profanity escaped his mouth, and the clerk bid that he, 'kindly desist from using such language in a high-class establishment,' before dismissing him entirely to initiate the confirmation of purchase with Tokoyami.

Nothing like being the first cockblocker of some random man's eager Saturday night.

As the store attendant retrieved the keys to unlocking the display keys from behind the counter, Tokoyami noticed many things about the rather well-built middle aged man that was sizing him up.

Tokoyami noticed just how tall they were. And how, despite his body being cloaked in that thick, black linen suit, the teenager was easily able to notice that his arms were almost double the width of his own legs.

Tokoyami also noticed that he looked a tad bit like Brad Pitt.

Tokoyami then noticed that he was glaring. And stepping closer.

…Fuck, he was actually quite intimidating.

But, he was the incarnation of darkness itself for goodness' sakes. The incarnation of all things spooky, gothic and wizardly doesn't get intimidated. Not at all. Said incarnation of darkness _does_ the intimidation.

Because that's just how things work.

Immediately, he put on his award winning, 'you-are-nothing-but-dust-in-the-autumn-breeze-and-your-fashion-sucks-shit-mister-two-dollar-shop-suit-plebeian' glare and turned around to (hopefully) paralyze his victim in pure fear.

Said victim reciprocated previously stated glare with a simple, 'I-will-rip-out-your-eyes-and-then-impale-my-hands-your-chest-and-into-your-lungs-to-watch-you-choke-on-your-own-eyes' stare.

Tokoyami won.

Obviously.

Blink reflexes were for pussies.

Promptly, Tokoyami whipped around and slammed his elbow in the direction of the so-called 'victim's face; using his other hand to help support the blow by clasping the wrist firmly as his arm crushed the man's collar-bone. _'Damn, not tall enough for his face… Pity.'_ He heard a grunt, as well as the clumsy backpedal of feet as the stranger stumbled over his own limbs. Turning around, the student still had the same calm, stony expression from earlier—casually inspecting the sprawled-out figure.

There was a knife on the platinum carpet, a small distance away from his hand.

Flexing his arm out, the teenager rubbed at his bruising elbow with a grunt; eying the man up as he heard the faint flicker in the store attendant's voice as they called up the police department. In all honesty, he had to commend the girl for being so calm in a potentially disastrous situation. Not moving his focus for a second, Dark Shadow began leaking into the physical plane from his back, hidden from sight. Tokoyami, now assured that his defence was in place, risked a few cautious steps towards the supposedly incapacitated assailant.

Supposedly being the key word.

Loud, manic laughter began echoing in the suddenly all-too-small store. Seeing as how the attendant was being scared shitless in a corner, and the two males were the only others in the store, it was pretty easy for Tokoyami to figure out who was laughing.

Not being one to dance with fate, the boy skirted around the edge of the man's reach; the ultimate goal being to take the knife away entirely while trying to avoid triggering another fight. Narrowing his eyes, he kept his hands up in a defensive position in front of his face. Best to avoid using his quirk as much as possible, both too much collateral damage, and too high of a risk on the man getting seriously injured.

Patience was a survival skill, he was told when he was younger.

Good thing for him, that his patience was leagues longer than most.

Now, someone being so cautious has its pros and cons—but it was definitely a con in this case.

Mainly because he underestimated _just_ how much that guy wanted the stupid bracelet.

In the time it took to inhale, the man was on his feet, knife in hand, and stabbing away happily in the air as they barrelled towards Tokoyami; his screams were high-pitched, wild and positively _enraged_. "Sheuchi ain't lettin' some snot-nosed brat take the bracelet! It's mine! Everything in here! Mine, mine, _mine!_ " Thankfully for Tokoyami that, despite the rampaging wall of a man that was charging towards him, said human-wall wasn't… Particularly bright.

Said man was running full-speed ahead—right into a display case. So, by all rights, the situation in a mere moment from that realisation should lead to Sheuchi rolling about on the floor, with a broken collarbone and a halo of glass shards.

It didn't.

Instead, the massive hulk of flesh flickered from sight, before disappearing entirely. An eerie sense of silence filled the room, with Tokoyami left in confusion as he backed away from the centre of the room; keeping a single eye on the attendant as he changed combat positions. Feet apart, back relaxed with arms held out to his sides loosely… Perfect for keeping the upper body mobile in order to react from nearly every direction.

When Sheuchi shuttered back into existence; there was nothing to herald, except for the expulsion of displaced air as a small breeze originated from the left of Tokoyami. The student leapt onto the remains of the central display case while Dark Shadow easily redirected the hurtling knife away from Tokoyami; a new trick they had developed by curving and solidifying their shadowy limb at just the right point, and just the right time.

But no amount of patience could prepare Tokoyami for the moment that a 150kg man dropped from the ceiling at the same moment that Dark Shadow was busy redirecting the knife; leaving no alternative aside from being crushed beneath Sheuchi, seeing as he was too slow to react in time to get out of the way. By all rights, this was the end for Tokoyami, through the use of underestimation of the opponent's intellect and strategy.

But then he saw the wide, shit-eating grin on the adult's face.

"Get dunked, fucker!"

Tokoyami's eye twitched.

Patience was a survival skill, he was told.

Whoever told him that was right.

The moment that Sheuchi's shadow fell over him, his stone visage finally cracked and splintered; his beak twisting into a wide, crooked grin of his own. He momentarily released the restraints on Dark Shadow—his eyes glinting wildly in the overhead light as Tokoyami's head was filled with nothing but white noise for a single moment. And that single moment was all that was needed for the short skirmish to finish.

Seeing as to how there were only two, nearly unbearably bright lights in the room- and Sheuchi used his own body to block out the one directly above him. The villain's own knife was lodged into the other light. The end result of these two events resulted in a single second of absolute darkness to befall Tokoyami- and after that single second of letting Dark Shadow go wild, before being rendered passive by the light above him after the obstacle was removed.

Regaining his bearings, the student raised his head sluggishly, a pained grunt coming from him as he raised a hand to rest on his head. Once more, he looked back at the woman in the corner, shooting her a small nod as she gave him a tightly lipped smile.

Turning back around, Tokoyami stumbled off the display case, looking back at the carnage to measure the collateral damage. _'Eh… Not too bad, half the central display case was destroyed, along with the overhead light. Here's to hoping I don't need to pay for repairs…'_

Looking at the floor, he quickly shook away his dizziness and confidently strolled towards Sheuchi, his beak set in a grim line with squared shoulders. Looking at the man's crumpled form at the centre of the pathway, Tokoyami was amazed to see him still _twitching_ after being slammed with that much force by Dark Shadow's talons.

"Sheuchi… Must… Maim...~!" He lifted his head off the concrete, his face a grotesque image of blood, glass and peeling skin—then, entirely without mercy, Tokoyami bid that Dark Shadow bound him with his talons. After doing so, the U.A student just heaved a sigh and secured a 5 metre perimeter around the psychotic man for the public to follow through with. Tilting his head back, he looked back inside the store to check on the lady inside.

She was striding towards him confidently, not an ounce of fear in her eyes as she held a small, glinting object in her hands.

' _God no.'_

He could just make out large, gaudy gems reflecting in the natural light as she exited the jeweller.

' _Please.'_

"Payment, for saving my life, and not destroying my entire shop." The aristocrat had a warm smile on her face, the kind that warmed those auburn eyes of hers, while making the grey streaks in her ebony hair seem like a trick of the light. An overall, pleasant and welcoming image.

If it weren't for that stupid fucking bracelet.

"…Thanks."

Then the police drove in, and ho-boy, was Tokoyami looking forward to having a jolly good story to tell them about being given an ugly bracelet that was worth more than their cars, the partially demolished interior of the building, and the bloody figure on the ground.

Dandy.

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

He meddled around with the large, hand-carved box in his hands, fingers tracing the various hinges and the large lock in the centre of the piece. It had been his mothers', given to him before she was taken away by Alzheimer's 5 years prior. She was diagnosed with it when she was 25, but died only 4 years later, leaving a son of only 6 years old behind. His fingers began outlining the cursive lettering on the side of the box, _'Saki'_.

He didn't think of his father much—at least, not his biological one.

Ruby eyes captured the image of the box in his mind for one last time, before raising his gaze upwards to focus on the small, nondescript nameplate branded into the wooden door before him.

" _Tsuyu Asui.  
Student No. 3 of Class 1-A.  
Department of Heroics."_

Breathing out slowly, he slowly dropped his head against the wooden surface; his beak making it much louder than he originally intended for it to be. The teenager resisted the strong urge to bolt as soon as he heard footsteps coming towards the door. With all the will that he could muster, the boy summoned up the most stone-cold, impassive look to his face.

Then Tsuyu answered the door, eyes blood-shot. "…Tokoyami? Is everything alright?"

At this point, the shadow-user couldn't trust his own voice, with how quickly his resting bitch-face was breaking apart. Instead, Tokoyami just held out the box in front of him, and kept his face as impassive as he could. Which meant, that he looked as nervous as a new borne duckling.

Looking down at the box curiously, she tilted her head to the side as she mouthed the engravings on the side of the box. "..Saki, huh?" Her thin lips quirked upwards into a smile, Tsuyu's large eyes softening, despite the harsh red outlines along her sclera. Looking up, she prepared to release a heart-felt thank you—.

Tokoyami was gone.

Looking down the hallway, Tsuyu could only watch incredulously as Tokoyami mashed the elevator button with as much power as he could muster- wait, was he even summoning Dark Shadow? Blinking, she watched as he gave one final glance back and started _assaulting the buttons with his fists_.

Then the elevator doors finally clicked shut.

"…Okay then."

Tsuyu brushed her fingers lightly along lock before clicking the compression mechanism. Tilting her head, she watched the lid ascend upwards slowly, before the image one of the most… _bright bracelets she had ever seen_ flashed before her eyes. Her small quirk of the lips turned into a 100-kilowatt smile.

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

As the sound of a high-pitched croak bombarded his ear-drums, Tokoyami was glad that he decided to run away.

And he was also slightly terrified.

…What an inhuman sound to make.

"Maybe she's colour-blind."

Tokoyami, honestly, wouldn't be very surprised.

Then again, Tokoyami was also talking to himself in a brightly lit room with dark furniture.

"I meant for it as a joke, that perhaps, the monstrosity of an object that I handed her would bring forth a smile of humour. But she genuinely enjoys it."

Once more, the boy spoke to the paper-copied image of Arima-kun that he had firmly duct-taped to his pillow; Tokoyami's voice was the spitting image of a general confused, teenage male. Shrugging, he set the thought aside for now and simply lied down beside his pillow.

"Tsuyu will do as Tsuyu does, I suppose."

He paused for a moment.

"…I actually kind of liked that box."

He blinked.

"Is it too late to get it back?"

As nothing but silence answered him, Dark Shadow was kind enough to offer a quick answer in the form of a note pad.

'Yes Tokoyami. Yes it is.'


	5. Combat Training

_**The reviews have revitalised my will to continue this. You rock.**_

 _ **OH YES.**_

 _ **LET'S GO FOR ROUND 5, BOYS AND GIRLS.**_

 _ **Also, kind of thinking to go for smaller, but quicker updates. It'll be like a flash-flood of mini-one shots. I might go more creatively and into AUs if people want me to, but for now.**_

 _ **ROUND 5. ENGAGED.**_

 _ **Low-key, I was listening to the OST for the anime while writing this. You Say Run is my jam yo'.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Prompt 5: 'Your opponents will be randomly chosen.' It was just Tsuyu's luck that she was up against Tokoyami. His stupid smirk wasn't helping her confidence at all. "Heck you."**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Tsuyu knew that the entirety of 1-A was watching.

She also knew that there was a unanimous vote on her definite loss.

Of course, none of the class voiced their thoughts and instead stared at the screen with growing dread. Even Toshinori, whose expression was usually so supportive and optimistic, had a knowing look on his face. As if the winner had already been decided in the instant she had turned away from them.

So, it was with those thoughts in her head, that Tsuyu walked into the training building with the righteous anger of wanting- no, _needing_ to prove everyone wrong. With her eyes darkened and her mouth set in a grim line, Tsuyu refused to bend to their expectations.

Pausing for a single moment as Tokoyami glanced at her, she croaked out a single sentence and continued her trek to the battleground.

As such, not once did she notice the small, graceful quirk of Tokoyami's beak as he prepared himself for a good fight. Mulling over her phrase, he inclined his head in respect to the woman's retreating figure as he quietly joined onto her statement.

"…Nothing less."

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

" _Rules! Very important for any self-respecting hero training program to maintain in a combat environment like this!"_

" _Firstly, don't hold back on any of your class members."_

 _It doesn't matter if they think they're outmatched."_

 _As a class, we're meant to rely on each other to better yourselves. And that doesn't happen by making sure they don't receive a single boo-boo to cry about."_

 _We're not civilians."_

 _We're meant to get hurt."_

 _The soft thrum of the electronics continued, even as All Might fixated his unmerciful gaze upon them._

" _If none of you can take a hit, then you shouldn't be here."_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Tsuyu's lungs felt like they were on fire.

She counted down each minute, every individual second as she propelled herself through the long, darkened hallways of the building. Since Tsuyu was chosen to play the role of villain, she had 3 more minutes to prepare herself against the incoming assault from the hero- who was played by Tokoyami.

Compared to the combat exercise they had done last year in teams, there was only the option of capturing the villain and stealing an important device off them. The only way to win as a villain, was to capture the hero, or out-last them.

Seeing as the time-limit was 45 minutes, Tsuyu doubted that strategy would work out for her.

' _1 minute and 26 seconds.'_

Whipping her tongue out, she smashed another over-head ceiling light- dismissive of the small fragments of glass that got diced into the sensitive flesh. As blood began to drip off the appendage, Tsuyu flicked it casually to stain the walls and floor with the dark red liquid. With the entirety of the floor in complete darkness, the 'villain' proceeded to the underground final story of the building.

Standing at the concrete doorframe for a moment, letting her eyes close for a single, blissful second. Taking a deep breath in, Tsuyu let her body relax before proceeding further into the basement.

Clenching her fists, she kneeled at the base of each individual foundation pillar- grabbing her tongue and squeezing out a few drops of blood to pool in her hand, Tsuyu secreted a near miniscule amount of her toxin and began mixing the two together. With her hands covered in the icky, poisonous substance, she smeared the concoction on the edge of the pillar's four corners.

Tsuyu repeated this process for each pillar.

 _All 10 of them._

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

" _Secondly! Everything is allowed in these battles! In a real combat situation, it would be idiotic to not use every advantage at your disposal in order to achieve victory!"_

 _Every student in this classroom must know that, regardless of how you win, or how you lose…"_

 _The strategies they use against you are pointers for overcoming your weakness. Every loss you suffer now, will save a casualty in the future."_

 _It's best to writhe in pain now, rather than have the lives of the innocent burn out because of faults that you were too stubborn to remedy."_

 _There was no silence this time; no hesitation._

" _Mistakes aren't obstacles. They're stepping stones that have yet to be crossed."_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Tsuyu and Tokoyami would swear to this day that, the moment that siren sounded, it heralded the beginning of the end.**_

 _ **And they were excited for it.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Tokoyami didn't know what he was expecting when he swung the entrance door open.

But not even the gods could describe the fear that he felt as his eyes were completely unable to penetrate the darkened veil that shrouded the interior of the warehouse. Dark Shadow materialised behind him, an uncertain squawk escaping their beak as they stared into the intimidating unknown. Tilting his head ever so slightly, he gave the shadowy being the faintest of nods as he gathered what courage he could while dismissing the entity from sight.

To this day, Tokoyami would never be able to say just where his relentless mindset came from as he stepped into the shadows and felt Dark Shadow already succumb into nothing but mindless violence.

As he studiously ignored the primal whispers to wreak havoc against his opponent, Tokoyami journeyed further and further into the concealed environment. The darkness seemed to only grow thicker the further he went- and as the sound of fragile material being crushed underfoot accompanied his descent, Tokoyami couldn't help the smirk that managed its way across his expression. _'Glass.'_

"Well played, Tsuyu."

His smirk morphed into a full-blown grin as he nearly slipped on an unidentified liquid near the staircase, although his dull nose could pick up the scent of iron. Just how much blood did that woman waste, he wondered?

"Well played indeed."

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

" _Thirdly, do not aim to kill. You may treat this like real life scenario to a certain extend before you begin to endanger the lives of your classmates."_

 _Remember that, as much as you want to win, they are your comrades in arms. They aren't trying to kill you first. This isn't survival of the fittest."_

 _There was a moment of silence before the final declaration._

" _We're heroes. Not conquerors."_

 _Then, all they knew was the thunderous applause and deafening approval._

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Tsuyu waited underneath that flickering light for a while.

She lost track of the time after counting the 867th second.

Though the injuries she had sustained during preparation were minimal, the amount of blood she had willingly lost to come up with this plan was something Tsuyu thought better to keep to herself. Her tongue slipped out on its own accord, marked with the various cuts that continued to seep the precious life-giving liquid that flowed through her body.

With a stare of molten obsidian, Tsuyu maintained her defensive position beneath the only light-source for many, many suspenseful minutes.

The all-encompassing darkness around her seemed to become an impenetrable wall of umbra that began to slip into every nook and cranny, until all she knew was the near hypnotic sway of the light and the madness that came from being disconnected from time.

Idly, as foreign footsteps began their tumultuous journey down the final stairwell, Tsuyu wondered if this was the world that Tokoyami was comfortable with.

The silence of the shade with only the most mediocre of illumination.

But, the instant that he entered the room, she knew something akin to stone-cold resolve by the look of sheer exhaustion and near insanity that tainted his usually calm visage.

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

" _Worry not, my students! While I may not maintain my All Might form for very long, I can still intervene in case some situations have become far too dangerous to maintain proper train-of-thought."_

 _Aizawa-sensei will be here momentarily as well, specifically, he'll be shadowing the students in order to make sure nothing gets too serious while I make my way to the scene."_

 _Of course, I had invited the principal along to see if he could give proper judgement on the strategies my dear pupils come up with, but I'm sure Momo-chan will be as good commentary as he!"_

 _As the woman stammered and denied this as ferociously as the rest of the class affirmed this, Toshinori continued._

" _With that said, Tsuyu! Tokoyami! You're up first!"_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _Tsuyu would never be able to forget the feeling of those condemning stares. "I won't lose!" She wanted to scream. But she never did._

 _ **She just looked ahead and prayed.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _He would never be able to forget the feeling of quiet rage that came when they damned her to failure so quickly. "Just watch!" He wanted to scream. But he didn't._

" _Make your way to building 4, the Warehouse."_

 _Toshinori seemed to give Tokoyami an almost pitying smile. It just screamed, 'I will remember you.'_

 _And as he caught sight of the iron-will sparking to life in Tsuyu's eyes, he couldn't help but give a knowing smile back._

' _Thank you…'_

 _Toshinori simply grinned all the wider._

' _For believing in her.'_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

"This is the only light-source in the entire building. I smashed every other one."

Blunt and simple, Tsuyu continued to keep an unwavering stare on Tokoyami's form as he stumbled further into the room. Aimless and lost were the only things that came to mind as she studied his expression. Sweat was practically pouring down his beak, accompanied by his rapid, shallow breaths.

Hesitation began to overwhelm her.

Was she going too far? Was this idea too dangerous?

Tsuyu's uncertainty finally won out as she took small, cautious steps towards him- hand outstretched in a placating gesture as her concern went from a small trick to an overflowing river at his lack of response. "Tokoyami?"

Once again, the teenager didn't give a response; his infallible focus on her becoming eerie as Tokoyami's rasping breath only got heavier. Slowly, though, he moved. A single step forward. Tsuyu released a breath she hadn't know she was holding, before it got stuck in her throat as the man began to pitch forward.

With no room for quick thinking, Tsuyu leapt forward to catch Tokoyami firmly in her grasp and began to drag him closer to the light. Now that she was closer to him, the woman could hear the soft ramblings as he desperately fought down Dark Shadow's encroaching influence.

Or so she thought.

Once the pair were beneath the source of illumination, Tokoyami shot into action as he began his assault by gripping Tsuyu's arm by the elbow and shoulder to heave her over his shoulder, twisting his foot to launch her into a nearby support beam. Stretching out his muscles, the boy kept a calm stare as he secured his strategic spot beneath the light.

He blinked once and, as expected, Tsuyu had completely disappeared the moment he had opened his eyes. "It's why I didn't bother to try and capture you, I wouldn't have been fast enough." Now that he had taken sanctuary beneath his main source of sanity, Tokoyami finally beckoned Dark Shadow back to his side.

" _Ribbit_ , I shouldn't have fell for it, I always knew you were one for theatrics."

Once again, he wasn't surprised of his inability to pinpoint where her voice was originating from. The smirk seemed to stay glued onto his beak as Tokoyami lowered himself into a more defensive position. "I should've known that you were smart enough to plan a strategy out for this. As soon as I saw the interior of the building, I nearly decided to drop out of the fight."

A brief silence collapsed into being between them, before a small, tentative voice broke it. "Why didn't you?"

His smirk turned into a smile as he looked up, Tokoyami's unusually sincere gaze locking with Tsuyu's demanding eyes as she raised the goggles above her head.

"Because I refuse to accept defeat from any _thing_ besides you."

Silence prevailed between the pair.

"...You really are dramatic."

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

 _As awe overtook the spectating class, Toshinori finally spoke up._

" _Do you, students of 1-A, know that Tsuyu said to Tokoyami before this battle began?"_

 _The sheer silence spoke volumes to him._

"' _ **Don't hold back.'"**_

 _The hush grew heavy as the guilt weighed them down; it seemed like a sacriledge to say something like that to a classmate, comrade and fellow hero._

 _But All Might wasn't finished._

 _Not yet._

"' _ **I'll make you go past 100%.'"**_

 _The unspoken phrase lingered in everyone's mind, as Izuku absorbed the frog-lady's strategy against Tokoyami and Bakugou settled his judgemental stare on Tokoyami's improved physical fighting style._

' _Plus Ultra.'_


	6. Combat Training (Part 2!) Optional

**I saw the review and decided, 'oh why the hell not'.**

 **So I tried to do another fighting scene.**

 **WOO.**

 **Now, my fellow shippers…**

 **ONWARDS!**

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

" _I remember what my parents said to me, back when I told them I wanted to be a hero."_

" _After dad died, my mother gave up being a hero."_

" _When my step-dad came into the picture, and I got 2 more siblings that meant more than anything to me…"_

" _I wanted to protect them."_

" _Nurture them."_

" _I wanted to become what my mother left behind."_

" _To pick up the mantle that she had forsaken."_

" _So I did."_

" _Mother was angry at first, mainly worried. But, she got over it in the end."_

" _Supports me with every breath she takes. Just as my step-dad does."_

" _But…"_

" _Seeing just how strong everyone else in this class is..."_

" _Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice."_

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

They stood like that for what seemed like forever.

Eyes locked, with Tsuyu feeling like the rug had been swept out right from under her while Tokoyami's smile stubbornly remained.

After that single moment of eternity, a small, faltering smile managed to pave its way across Tsuyu's face- her expression seeming to be so solid, yet as if it were about to crack at any moment. Raising a tightening fist, she placed it across her chest. Right above her heart.

In response, Tokoyami swept his left arm out from under his shawl and curled it into a clenched hand- lifting the height of the appendage so that it was levelled with his smouldering gaze. His smile warped from its previously kind disposition into something far harsher.

She grinned.

Then, Tsuyu bled from existence right in front of his eyes- becoming nothing more than the faintest of distortions rippling against the roof before the dark environment cloaked her entirely.

Tokoyami sighed, closing his eyes as he fell back onto his hearing to find out where the woman was hiding. Seeing as how his hearing was his second strongest sense, it was folly not to use it when sight would simply handicap him in a situation like this.

As the seconds ticked away, he focused on his breath in order to not lose patience and charge into the shadows. It would be an instant loss at that moment. The light above him burst into a round of sudden, sporadic creaks; the lightest of drafts seeming to hit it.

' _Wait.'_

' _We're underground, there's no way wind could get down here-'_

No hesitation could be risked as Dark Shadow's talons smashed into the concrete ceiling- just managing to avoid destroying the artificial illuminance by the barest of margins as the sentient quirk curved their attack to only skim the rim of the object. Tokoyami had kept his attack weak on purpose, seeing as he didn't want to toy with the electrical wires in the ceiling. His hearing picked up on the sound of body slamming into the ground nearby, crimson optics narrowing as he prepared another attack.

Tokoyami felt no sense of remorse as he extended Dark Shadow's talons to the outer rims of the light's reach, with the sole purpose of slamming into where he presumed Tsuyu's unconscious body was.

His attempt at capture was a failure, as she rolled out of the entity's reach and into the darkness before the limb was even half-way there.

Pulling herself up, Tsuyu felt no weakness in her limbs- at least, no weakness that could compare to the self-doubt. With her actions becoming almost robotic, the student slipped her tongue out to attack to the top of a pillar before pulling herself back into the shadows.

"You're playing it cautious."

Tsuyu attempted to ignore his words as she desperately thought up a strategy of taking him down. Somewhere, deep inside, she knew he was right.

"Tsuyu."

It took all of her willpower in order to note send back a scathing echo of his greeting.

" _Found you._ "

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

" _I was an honour student."_

" _I wasn't… A recommendation, like Momo or Todoroki."_

" _But I worked hard. Really, really hard. I studied and trained for hours and hours."_

" _Because I didn't want to give up."_

" _I wanted to make this quirk of mine strong."_

" _I didn't have the vast array of toxins that my mother did. Or the ability to explode things. Or immense strength. I didn't have anything that was… really special."_

" _I just had a poison too strong to actually use, a long tongue and big… everything."_

" _But I always told myself…"_

"' _Frog-form was strong'0."_

" _That's what I wanted to prove."_

" _It was a… a quirk that…"_

" _A quirk that relied on your intellect."_

" _It was a quirk built on the foundations of calm thinking, rationality and movement."_

" _Constant, assured movement."_

" _Mobility."_

" _Speed."_

"…"

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

Tsuyu wasn't angry.

She wasn't annoyed, frustrated and on the verge of tears because of this situation.

Tsuyu was thinking, and the gods above know this…

Once a woman has gotten to thinking, there's nothing that'll stop her.

So the fact that Dark Shadow's ambiguous body swirled and twisted around her; the constrictions getting more and more pronounced as Tsuyu felt the air within her lungs slowly dwindle into nothing. The fact that she was being pulled closer and closer to Tokoyami, who was rasping and on the verge fainting.

None of that bothered her.

 _10, 9, 8…_

The fact that his plumage, usually so sleek and unruffled, were caked with sweat, dust and blood.

 _7, 6, 5…_

The fact that the blood staining him was almost entirely her own.

 _4, 3…_

Not a single one of those facts bothered her.

 _ **2…**_

A fact that no one would quite believe, but one that Tsuyu knew would be true, would be that each and every one of those entirely true statements would lead to her proving one over-ruling opinion completely wrong.

She wasn't going to lose.

In fact…

"Dark Shadow, withdraw!"

The embodiment of darkness that once held her captive melted away almost immediately after the light above Tokoyami began to flicker- panic causing the hero to make the hasty decision of dismissing his quirk in fear of the illuminator dying completely. Seeing as how the entity was in the process of throwing her towards the other student before dissipating, Tsuyu was still rocketing through the air.

" _Frog-form is about those two things, yes."_

Tokoyami's expression was still frozen in a look of horror and exhaustion.

" _To act fast, and your mind faster. The definition of speed and agility."_

He finally took note of the harsh sound of something large cutting through the air- looking back at Tsuyu as he took in the sight of her catapulting towards him.

" _To be mobile enough to find a way out of any situation. The intelligence and diligence to maintain that mobility."_

Lowering himself closer to the ground in a crouch, Tokoyami had only a few, precious moments to muster up whatever meagre defence he could before collision. He even risked summoning Dark Shadow to his side again, the intangible avian forming a protective barrier.

" _But, there's one more thing people forget about when they think, 'frogs'."_

Tsuyu kept her leg extended, the grin she had didn't waver for a single moment.

She knew this would happen.

Her tongue shot out, intense physical conditioning making the limb even stronger than her legs. Tsuyu watched as Tokoyami's eyes widened with mute horror as her slippery appendage wrapped around the light's power cord and proceeded to rip it out of the roof—Tokoyami just managing to banish Dark Shadow from the physical world once again as their surroundings flashed into cold, unforgiving tons of black and grey.

 _ **1.**_

Tsuyu's foot slammed into Tokoyami's head, a near-instant knock out as his body was thrown into the ground.

" _Survival."_

She didn't linger her foot near him for longer than was necessary, already kneeling by his side as Tsuyu propped his head up in a comfortable position in her arms. The woman didn't flinch as Aizawa dropped down beside her, looking at the K.O'd student with a cold gaze.

He remained silent.

"I knew he wouldn't use his quirk in a place where he wasn't absolutely certain that he could control it," Tsuyu didn't know why she was speaking, all she knew was that the words were coming out, and they weren't stopping, "I knew that, which is why I used the time I had to smash all the light sources in the building—except for this one." Tilting her head towards the wreckage of the light-bulb nearby, she sighed.

"Most people think that, against Tokoyami, light is the best way to counter him. But, I feel that they also forget about what happens when he's in complete darkness. He's unable to control his quirk, and therefore, it becomes his own destruction. After what happened at the Forest Lodge, Tokoyami has been terrified of that happening again."

"People forget that, sometimes, your strength _is_ your weakness."

"So I led him down here, tangoed with him for a little bit and waited for that opening. For the moment when he knew victory was well in-hand, and forgot about his own defensive objective. By smashing all of the lights, I gave him two objectives to focus on; capturing me and guarding his combat advantage. As you can see, his lapse in concentration result in… well, this." Tsuyu continued to run her gloved fingers through Tokoyami's feathers, frowning in worry as a small trickle of blood began to flow from his mouth.

Aizawa simply observed as Tsuyu helped lift the injured hero onto the infirmary stretcher, making her way out of the training compound as she held Tokoyami's limp hand firmly; worry etching wary lines into her youthful visage. Tearing his gaze away from the near heart-rending scene, he spoke into the comm. link. "So, Class 1-A, what have we learned?"

" _ **..Tsuyu's really smart and slightly scary?"**_

Aizawa's lips quirked upwards the slightest of amounts at Kaminari's reluctance response. With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he made his way out of the dusty establishment—that was now eerily silence, as the sounds of battle faded. "Close enough."

 _ **.**_

 _ **..**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **It feels like I didn't end it properly, but I'm so tired and I need to head off to an appointment soooon… I don't even have time to read over it again!**_

 _ **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this extra segment that I made! See you next time!**_


End file.
